Automobile door protector



W. H. PRITCHETT AUTOMOBILE DOOR PROTECTOR Filed Nov. 25, 1923 Patented Jan. 13, 1925.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM H. PRITCHETT, OF QUANTIGO, VIRGINIA.

AU'IIOMO'BILE DOOR PROTECTOR.

Application filed November 23, 1923. Serial No. 676,518.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WVILLIAM H. Pnrronn'rr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Quantico, in the county of Prince William and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile Door Protectors; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to improvements in automobile door protectors, and has for an object to provide a removable protecting structure adapted to be fitted over the upper edge of the door in order to receive COIltflCtTIOlll the hands of the passengers in opening and closing the doors and in alighting from and entering the vehicle.

The device is intended to protect the polished surface of the door which is subjected to hard usage. The varnish or paint is rapidly worn off through repeated opening and closing of the door, while the remainder of the finish remains in good condition, yet this slight mar-ring upon the door top is unsightly, and due to its conspicuous position, detracts greatly from the general appearance of the vehicle.

Some of the better classes of automobiles are now fitted by the manufacturers with permanent leather covers over the tops of the doors or over the central parts of the doors, but this is expensive, and the leather is subjected to the elements and itself rapidl v wears and loses its appearance without being removable except at great expense.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an inexpensive, neat and compact device for universal fitting of all classes of vehicle doors in which the device will accommodate itself to the concavity of the door without in any way altering the uniform and ornamental appearance of the article.

\Vith the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claim appended hereto.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 shows a fragmentary side view opposite side with respect to Figure 3, and

broken away at one portion.

Flgure 5 IS a perspective View of the device, and

Figure 6 is an end view thereof.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the device is preferably made from spring steel or other appropriate metal and from one piece of material of suitable length and breadth, bent substantially U-shaped to provide the top connecting portion 7 and the legs 8 and 9, which are bent at substantially. right angles from the top portion. These legs preferably converge downwardly as indicated in Figure 6, and being of resilientmaterial, the legs may be spread to the dotted line position shown in this Figure 6, when in the act of inserting the device upon the automobile door indicated at 10 in Figure 1, which is upon the vehicle indicated generally at 11. A high frictional grip is given by reason of the spring character of the legs and the initial convergent position thereof so that the device efi'ectually clamps the door. In the top portion 7 and leg 8 are the slots 12, but the opposite leg 9 is made without such slots as this leg is intended to fit upon the exterior face of the door 10. The door is usually concave and Figure 2 indicates in dotted lines the door 10 as looked upon from above. The concavity is upon the inside of the vehicle, and the imperforate leg 9 extends upon the outside. The slots 12 close more or less when the device assumes the concave position, and the presence of the slots permit the device to follow the concavity without buckling. The top portion 7 and 1e 8 are thus divided by slots 12 into a num er of adjoining sections supported from the leg 9 and possessing a rather high flexible character, but inasmuch as the clamp action of the two legs takes place transversely the presence of the slots will not interfere with this action in any wise.

The device is concealed by a fabric 13 of appropriate material and design, for instance'of leather, the edges of which are turned up within the legs as indicated at 14 in Figure 6. The turned up edges ongage the polished surface of the door, and prevent marring thereof by the metal and the fabric edges also possess inherently higher frictional resistance to movement upon the door and the edges thus subserve the additional function of holding the device upon the door and preventing it from accidentally creeping as by the weight of a person exerted through the hand upon the device or by the vibration or jarring incident to the movement of the vehicle.

'Thc legs and end portions of the device are provided with perforations 15 to admit the stitches or other fastenings for sewin or securing the fabric 13 upon the meta frame. The edges 14 are preferably turned up for a distance to overlap the perforations upon the inside of the legs so that the stitches or other securing means may pass directly through the fabric on the outside,

and the edges 14 upon the inside. A very effective anchoring of the cover upon the frame is in this way secured. The fabric 13 may be stiff so as not to enter the slots 12 nor to interfere with the closing movement of the slots, or a stiff lining may be placed beneath the fabric to prevent the fabric from entering the slots. The fabric therefore does not contact with the slots, but due to its flexible character, it will conform to the curvature assumed by the me.

tallic frame in its position upon various styles and shapes of doors.

The device is easily removable and can be replaced when worn or unsightly; or the cover may be removed and a fldl cover put on.

The device will protect the finish of the doors and enable a better grip to be had upon the doors in opening and closing the same, and the device may be removed at any time without injury to the finish. The device will form an attractive accessory for the car when in lace.

It is obvious t at various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claim:

What is claimed is:

An automobile door protector comprising a substantially U-shaped frame made from resilient metal having an intermediate connecting portion and legs extending outwardly from said connecting portion in initially convergent relation, said frame having transverse slots made all the'way through one leg and said connecting portion, the other leg being free from slots, and a stifl covering placed over said frame with its edges turned within the edge. portions of the legs, said stiff covering being loosely fitted over the frame and secured only loosely to the edge portions of the frame whereby to permit the slots to open and close without interference from or pinching the stiff covering.

WILLIAM H. PRITCHETT. 

